Spent some time this morning walking the river walk. Another beautiful day 84 degrees F and a great walk also. The river is at the lower level of Chicago and you get a really good view of the architecture along the river. We came to the end at North Shore Drive and then decided a coffee was the best idea and we needed somewhere cool to sit. There was a big art exhibition going on and that would have been rather nice to visit, but time was limited so we walked along a small part of it and then gave the rest a miss.
We are now sat waiting for our last train to Minneapolis which leaves at 1415. It is the Empire Builder which runs all the way to Seattle, some 3000 miles. We have to go just over 400 miles.
On the train we wended our way slowly through Illinois to Minnesota State. Once we were out of Chicago we came to farmland of vegetables and corn. From then on we more or less followed the massive Mississippi. This is a sight to behold as it laps up very close to the railway lines first on one side and then on the other. Interestingly the train we were supposed to have caught went all the way to Seattle. This was cancelled because of floods on the line in North Dakota, so our train goes only to St Paul/Minneapolis. I have to say it was a lovely 418 miles, chugging along in comfortable seats watching this glorious water which you hear so much about. The Mississippi wanders some 2300 miles from top to bottom of USA and meandering through Minnesota.
We arrived half an hour early and waited for Emily and Zac. It was really great to see them again. Zac had never been to St Paul train station! It was very small and didn't appear to be close to anywhere, which could have been a problem if we had been on our own and having to find a hotel. We stayed in the St Paul Hotel where Zac used to work. It is a beautiful old building, very refined and classy.
Cocktails were in order and then bed!
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